Friday, December 29, 2006

Maris College conducted a survey on new years resolutions. They found the top three resolutions were: 1) lose weight, 2) be a better person, and 3) quit smoking.

I want to know why no one wants to be a better smoker, or quit losing weight.

And a little bit of that... :-(

Were you ever enticed to enter a blog discussion, and ended up thinking you were baited into it? That happened to me this week. Someone used my name in their post, based on a comment I made elsewhere. I was led, er, felt, um, decided to (sheesh, do I have to use all those terms?)...I was compelled to comply. I didn't frame one of my points very well. Regardless, I was on the wrong side of the discussion overall. Subsequent posts turned into everyone else congratulating themselves on how right and good they were. No, literally, as in:

Person #1: "You are such a good writer; you can take over my blog whenever you like."Person #2: "Oh, thanks, but really, you're the best."Person #3: "Actually, I think you're both great. I am so happy to know both of you."Person #1: "But, #3, you're not so bad yourself."

The love fest was sick.

Am I the only one who's been there?

And a little more of this... :-)

We had a great time with my brother (Paul) and his girlfriend (Brittany), who traveled from L.A. to celebrate Christmas with the family. They joined us at our Running in Circles gig on Dec. 23. Paul played drums on Hot Child in the City, and Brittany sang Just Like Heaven. They did a great job. We enjoyed their company at our house on Christmas Day, too.

Paul and Brit, thanks for coming.

And a little more of that... >:-(

Being loved does not guarantee you happiness; neither does being loving. So, stop chasing love in an effort to create your own happy place.

If you know someone is doing something wrong, and you refuse to do anything about it because they might not like/love/respect you any more, then you are being selfish.

Grow up. Stop making "love" about you. If you want to be truly loving, you will end up ticking off a person or two (or nine, or a hundred) in your lifetime. And they will despise you for it...temporarily...at least...maybe. Just ask your kids. Or your spouse. Or your employees.

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest, or I was going to explode. It relates to my aforementioned blog fiasco.

And some more of this... ;-)

Dear Santa, could you puh-leeeze send Cleveland one major league sports championship before I die? Would that really be too much to ask? I've been really...somewhat...okay, occasionally good for my life on this earth thus far.

I know, I know, I promised to accelerate the pace of this series. So much for that, with the holidays, er, Christmas and all. Anway, here we go.

Homeschooling is not a go-it-alone venture. While the misconception of the isolated, eight-child family on the farm still resonates with some people, it is not true.

Somehow, somewhere, everyone who homeschools had to start somewhere. Where was it? You probably heard a few things about homeschooling, and decided you wanted to learn more. Why? Because you had a vested interest in making a change. Many of you indicated this in your comments to earlier posts.

What comes next? Validation! Getting enough solid info from enough solid sources to decide if homeschooling was for you and your children. (And, yes, it is as much about the parents as it is about the children.)

So, you went from being in a vacuum - no information at all - to having more info than you knew how to use. But you did it. You worked through it, because you had a vested interest in doing so. You developed your master plan for dominating the homeschool universe. You picked the schooling method, you picked the curriculum, you dreamed of being the perfect parent, balancing it all and still having time left over for your spouse, vacations to Disneyworld, and bowling on weekends.

But what happens if you should happen to stumble, or your child doesn't catch on?

After (or during) your quest for homeschooling methods and curriculum, you stumbled upon dozens and dozens of local homeschooling groups. What? Groups of people that thought like you did? And other groups full of people who thought nothing like you did? GET OUT OF HERE!!! You probably came to the conclusion that you could maintain your homeschooling independence, but still have the support of a like-minded group during the tough times.

How many groups did you or your friends learn about? How many did you/they evaluate? And, finally, how did you select a group, or two or three, with which to associate? Were they based on the same principles as your reasons for homeschooling, were they "fun", or for some other reason? Or, did you have to create a new group because there were none to fill the void?

Please post your comments for the fun & enjoyment of all.

Food for thought: how did you select the people you voted for in the last elections? Was it based on winnability, on finding like-minded people, on "fun", or on other reasons?

Sunday, December 24, 2006

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14 (NIV)

Thursday, December 21, 2006

In a shocking display factual reporting, a major media outlet has decided to publish a series of stories about the bashing of Christians.

Information obtained by QNA (Quipper News Alliance) indicates that this is neither a ruse, nor an attempt to garner readership from the extreme right. Matter of factly, our confidential contact indicated that the organization fretted over whether to release the stories, right before the secular holiday called Christmas:

"We know that, if we release these news events now, we may offend secular humanists who celebrate the secular holiday. We also fear that Christians will again try to wrestle away control of the holiday. This would not be a good sign for big business, or for those who are offended by Christianity.

However, in the light of the season, we feel it is appropriate to present a balanced reporting effort. After all, we present Ramadan, Hanukkah, and Kwaanza in a good light, it is only appropriate we do the same for those few Christians that still celebrate the original intent behind the Christmas event."

QNA has obtained reports that the following news stories will be highlighted in upcoming newspaper and radio spots:

- Man points out that Kings David and Solomon had more than one wife

- Muslim man points out that Patriarch Jacob had twelve sons from two wives and two concubines

- Patriarch Abraham ran his concubine and love child out of his house

- CAIR showed pictures of Jesus Christ on their website

- Liberals are upset that Jesus says he, and not Kofi Annon, will overcome the world.

These are just a few of the stories that are being followed. Updates will be posted when they occur....

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Yes, it is time again to dole out the awards I lovingly call the Idiot of the Week Awards. And, well, after watching the Browns/Ravens game, this was an easy one again.

Let's start with a recap of the game. Even though it was close at halftime, the Browns...

Be-de-beep-beep-be-de-de-beep-beep-be-de-beep-beep

We interrupt this week's Idiot of the Week Awards to give you breaking news. Out in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, it has just been reported that blog celebrity Mrs. Quipper is about to celebrate another anniversary of her birth. Authorities have gone on record saying that it couldn't happen to a nicer woman, and that her husband is thrilled again to be married to someone his own age. Records show that this phenomenon happens only two and a half months every year.

Family and friends can't say enough about Mrs. Quipper. The compliments are coming in from the local community and from around the world. From her extraordinary knitting talents, to her homeschool teaching prowess, and her ability to make elegant and the mundane meals taste like a million bucks, the Quipper family cannot get enough of her.

Mr. Quipper, in a not-so-rare interview, said, "All the money in the world could not compensate for everything that my lovely wife does for our family. She is beautiful, faithful, and a wonderful conversationalist. There is nothing more that I could ask for. I love you, hon. Happy Birthday."

This concludes our breaking news. Now, back to your regularly scheduled Idiot of the Week Awards.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Thanks to everyone who posted their comments in response to the second article of this series. The answers varied more than I thought, so they definitely did not fit into a box (i.e. into one set of pre-defined rationale). Hmm...how we categorize our political beliefs???

Remember, though, the intent here is not to sell homeschooling. I am not an expert, and do not play one on TV. I am using a movement I am familiar with, which I believe is similar to the movement that needs to occur to change the political landscape.

So, how many methods are there for homeschooling? One? Two? There are plenty. For the sake of the topic, let me describe a few of them (the terms and definitions are mine, and I'm sure Mrs. Quipper and others can correct my comments if necessary).

Classroom style:

Formal schooling - this is school at home. Classroom setting. Fixed schedule times. Blackboard/whiteboard style. Like the old, small country school brought home.

Unschooling - no classes at all. All topics are taught out of the classroom setting.

Something in between - in homeschooling, everything you do becomes an opportunity to educate.

Curriculum selection:

Full formal curriculum - parents exclusively use pre-developed curriculum by companies that excel in creating them. The parents follow all the recommended schedules meticulously, and don't stray from the books.

Home grown curriculum - parents do not use any pre-developed curricula, but shop and choose subject material based on the parents teaching strengths and the student's learning styles.

Something in between. Parents may choose pre-developed curricula for some subjects, and other curricula for other subjects.

What classroom style do you use, and why? And how do you select curricula - do you use a full formal curriculum, pick and choose everything, or use a combination fo both?

How do you decide your vote? Full formal (i.e. within party lines), pick and choose (no pattern, always look at all candidates), or something in between?

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

What does he do? Takes his constituents' contributions to run for President, while doing nothing but blowing hot air as a Congressman.

So, he's running for President? Yes.

What's his platform? Anti-war, ultra-lib. Loves having the state do everything for everyone. Gave up on his pro-life, and other somewhat conservative views when he learned the Dems would give him better support and a better base.

Does he have a chance to win? No. Last go-round, he could scarcely garner 1% of votes in the Democratic primaries. So, if his flock increases tenfold, he still isn't anywhere close to gaining a majority.

he makes every other Democratic candidate look moderate in comparison. He skews the political continuum, just because the Dems give him a voice and allow him to waste their money for 4-6 months during the primaries.

So, you can have other liberal candidates that are to the right of Kucinich, and most are. If you offer up 3-4 liberal candidates that are right of Kucinich, you still have choices of 3-4 liberal candidates, and no Democratic choices for socially or fiscally conservative candidates. It's a win for Dems.

It also makes practically all conservative positions look extreme, even when they are not. Remember, you measure the middle by the extremes. He moves the middle away from moderate positions and into liberalism.

As I said, fear this man. Even though he has no chance of winning anything, his inclusion in the Presidential race automatically tilts all debate in favor of left-leaning liberalism, and away from moderate to conservative positions.

Monday, December 11, 2006

This site says I am 34.5 years old. It's a neat health test that tells you, based on habits, environment, and family history, how old your body is relative to your chronological age. The survey takes twenty minutes to fill out, if you filter past the marketing questions. :-) Every other page or so is another plea to accept subscriptions from them. You can successfully not answer them, and still complete the survey. (Hint: the first page that says "what subjects is your family interested in" is a marketing page, not a survey page.)

BTW, if you are wondering...I am 38 3/4 years old. So, I'm doing a little better than my age. Woo hoo! Now, if I'd only eat more veggies and fruit....

Thanks to all of you for the responses you posted to the first article of this series. My posting has not been as frequent as I'd like it; I hope to accelerate the series a bit over the next two weeks, so pay attention! :-)

You indicated that the decision for or against homeschooling is a family decision. It was not made in a vacuum, but considered factors that were internal and external to the family. You made the decision irrespective of the prevailing thoughts around you. Humorously, several mentioned that your families don't like any of your decisions. You rebels, you.

So, we know why you didn't succumb to public or private school peer pressure. Now, what educational reasons did you have for homeschooling?

The answer to that question is as varied as the parents who do it. My guess is that most answers will fall into the following, not-all-inclusive categories:

Learning deficiencies and/or advances - sometimes, a child is too far ahead or behind relative to other children their age, and the formal classroom cannot keep pace with them.

Behavioral difficulties with the student (or with other students) in the classroom.

Religious reasons - parents want to teach their children their religious beliefs, and how those beliefs integrate throughout all that a child learns.

Dissatisfaction and cost - it's too expensive to send a child to private school in lieu of having the child attend a public school, which the parents don't want to do.

Politics - some parents don't like the left-leanings or right-leanings of the subject matter or, recently, of the teachers.

Safety - who likes the thoughts of their children having to pass through metal detectors to go to school?

Reducing the influence of peer pressure on their children's ability to learn.

I'm sure you could think of many more.

Again, what are your educational reasons for homeschooling? Yes, some of this overlaps the responses you gave to the first article, but I'd like to know more. I believe that no one does it because "everyone else is doing it". I believe that everyone who does it has strong, foundational reasons for doing so. Just like, I hope, they have strong, foundational reasons for electing the officials that they do, and don't do it because "everyone else is doing it".

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Rivalry - a competitive or antagonistic state or condition (from Mirriam-Webster)

Game - a competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules (from American Heritage)

Rivalry Game - a game which has heightened tension, usually due to geography, tradition, or competitive history (from Quipper)

No duh, Quipper. What's the point?

I'm getting to that. Chill, okay?

The Cleveland Browns attended a rivalry game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday night. I would prefer to say that they participated in the game, but that would only be true from the fact that they were on the field during the entire game. The effort wasn't there; the emotion, gone. The Steelers are the most hated football team in Browns Backers circles. Yes, even more hated than the Ravens. One problem: they forgot to show up again. That's a cardinal sin in the world of sports: you ALWAYS play your best against your rivals, no matter how bad of a team you are.

It also makes the fans decide to stop paying beau coup dollars to see their sports teams play.

Add it up:

The Browns were one Braylon Edwards touchdown away from being shut out in their second consecutive rivalry game.

Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have lost all but one game against the Steelers.

The overall series between the Browns and Steelers is now tied at 55-55.

Six of every season's sixteen games are rivalry games for the Browns, played against the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and the Iron City team.

The Browns are 0-5 this year in rivalry games, and have one game left against Baltimore. It's lookin' pretty ugly.

In press conferences on Friday, the team's head coach, Romeo Crennel, said he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, and did not know how to correct it. The team's general manager, Phil Savage, publicly gave his coach the dreaded "vote of confidence" the previous week, then reiterated his support after the Steelers game. The lone bright spots were the play of backup quarterback Derrick Anderson and of wide receiver Joe Jurevicius. Otherwise, the Browns receivers dropped 6-8 passes, didn't make an attempt on another 4-6 close passes, and generally stunk up the joint.

So, why wait until Sunday to deliver the Idiot of the Week awards, when you already know who the winners are? Results were officially tabulated by the accounting firm of Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe.

Win - Phil Savage. It's time to blow up the ship.

Place - Romeo Crennel, for not having a clue.

Show - The Cleveland Browns receivers, for doing what they do best - dropping the ball.

Honorable Mention - Me. Who thought I'd be dumb enough to watch this ineptitude for this long?

Here's wishing Troy Smith, QB for The Ohio State Buckeyes, luck as he attends the Heisman Trophy award presentation tonight. Hopefully, he will be taking the award home.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Silly me. To think, I told Scottius Maximus that I didn't believe the Browns would win another game this season. Not with the way they played last week, anyway. They not only won, but looked like a real team, to boot. Before Charlie Frye, our QB, got knocked out of the game with what may be a broken wrist, he was doing everything right. His backup, rookie Derrick Anderson, picked up where Frye left off. Great job by the rookie playing in his first NFL game. The defense didn't do all that well, but picked up their effort when they needed to.

But I must digress, and make this week's top Idiot of the Week awards about college football, where The Ohio State Buckeyes will play the Florida Gators in the BCS championship. (Sorry, Meee-chi-gan, you didn't even win your conference; you didn't deserve to play in the championship game.)

Win - The USC Trojans. They controlled their own destiny, but couldn't beat their in-town rivals, UCLA. It proves just about anything can happen in a rivalry game.

Place - The Florida Gators, who tried their best during the third quarter of their game yesterday to blow the lead, and force the BCS committee to schedule a rematch between OSU and Meeeeeeeeee-chi-gan.

Show - Rex Grossman, Chicago Bears QB. Yes, I'm back to the NFL. After the first half, the guy was something like 3-for-10, for thirty total yards passing and three interceptions. How the Bears continue to win with this guy at QB is a mystery. Scottius,help me understand these things!

Honorable Mention - The BCS formula. For no reason other than debate about an OSU-Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee-chi-gan rematch should not have been necessary.

What will Thursday night hold, when the bad Browns play the ever-so-slightly-better Steelers? Only nobody knows. :-)

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Instead of talking politics, we'll tackle another topic, and show how it relates to Jane's question. That topic is homeschooling. Even if you don't homeschool, you probably know someone who considered homeschooling or does homeschool their children, so hang with me.

This topic is too big to cover in one post, and my thoughts are still being formulated for subsequent entries. This ride is, after all, a pay as you go deal; just in time processing, if you will.

Everyone take your positions.

On your mark...get set...

GO!

Homeschooling. It's not just for whacked out, isolationist Christians any more. Okay, it really never was, but had that reputation. Approximately 2.0 million children are homeschooled. Not much, you say? Understand that the movement has grown between 7%-12% annually since the turn of the millennium. (I wish my stock portfolio would consistently grow at those rates.)

So, while the percentage of children being homeschooled is trending up, it is still a small minority of the full population. Homeschooling parents are still bucking the trend, and doing what others won't do, won't consider or could care less about.

So, if you are reading this and are a homeschooling parent, you decided to do something that the majority is not doing. But you did it anyway.

If you homeschool, why did you decide to buck the trend, when maybe even parents, relatives and close friends disagreed with your decision? I am not asking what your reasons were for homeschooling. I am asking what your reasons were for not caring what others thought.

There is a difference. Let's see why you, or your homeschooling friends, distanced yourself from the peer pressure of sending your kids off to school. I am ready and eager to read your comments.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Cleveland lost a good friend yesterday. Casey Coleman, a legendary sportscaster and sports anchor in the Greater Cleveland area, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer early Monday morning. He strived to be among the 4% of survivors, but it wasn't meant to be.

I hit the snooze on my alarm that morning. When it startled me awake again, I could tell something was different. Fading in and out of sleep, I was only picking up parts of the radio broadcast. Something startled Mrs. Quipper awake, and I said "I think Casey died last night." I was right.

Today, as I observed people calling local radio stations, or dropping comments on the local websites, to talk about him and his life, I became compelled to post some of my own comments.

For his entire life, Casey was involved with professional sports, which he coined "the toy department of life" because, in the grand scheme of things, sports really didn't mean anything. You would never see or hear him make himself the story; he always kept a proper perspective. He hated it when sports took on more importance than real-life problems, or when athletes became caricatures of themselves.

His father, Ken Coleman, was the voice of the Boston Red Sox for many years. He passed away a couple years ago. Casey had big shoes to fill, and filled them well.

When I was a younger, Casey was the sports anchor for one of the local television stations. Yesterday, a local radio personality responded to a caller, saying she remembered watching Casey on TV as she grew up. As I thought about it, I remembered we had three TV stations, and three sports programs in the 80s. Darn it if I couldn't remember the other two sports anchors, because I spent my time watching Casey, too.

When another local sportscasting legend and "voice of the Browns", Nev Chandler, passed away from cancer, Casey replaced him in the booth. Casey was unfortunate to be behind the mic for the 1995 football season, when Art Modell announced then proceeded to move the Browns to Baltimore. This individual, who was a ball boy for the Browns when he was growing up, remained professional through the sadness of the time.

I remember when Casey defended Bill Belichick, former Browns head coach, current New England Patriots coach and winner of three Super Bowls, for benching and waiving local hero Bernie Kosar. I didn't like it. I loved Bernie. But Casey stuck to his guns, and probably got himself in local hot water for sticking with his story. But I also recall rumors of Casey writing a book to explain what really happened to cause Art Modell to move the Browns to Baltimore. What a shame that the truth could not be told. Now, local politicians and businessmen no longer need to worry about what dirty laundry could be exposed.

I also learned yesterday that Casey was one of the pioneers for sideline reporting during football games. Granted, he wasn't as good looking as the sports babes on TV, but his insights were spot-on, as though he was in the huddles and the coaches' meetings. He always educated as well as entertained. This is a talent that the Cleveland Indians sportcasters also have, and it makes for easy listening.

Mrs. Quipper was introduced to Casey through Browns broadcasts in the mid-90s, courtesy of my love for all Cleveland pro sports teams, but didn't gain an appreciation for him until he joined the high-powered AM talk radio station in cleveland, WTAM 1100 . He had a quick, dry wit, which fit very well within the walls of the Quipper household. His contacts around the major sports leagues, and the way those contacts confided in him, made him THE MAN in Cleveland for up to the minute sports news. He could decipher rumors, facts, and wild fantasy. If Casey reported it, it had to be true. And if it wasn't, then decisions were reversed, and we found out about it the next day in the paper. (This was what happened when the Browns almost fired their General Manager, Phil Savage, last off-season.)

Casey once recommended a fantasy baseball book on one of his programs. We liked what Casey said about the book, so we bought it for Classical Pelican, my father-in-law, for Father's Day. Mrs. Quipper sent a thank you e-mail to Casey for his recommendation of the book. He was genuinely surprised to get an e-mail, and replied to my wife with a heartfelt thank you. It might not sound like much, but how many people in that position would you expect to reply to you?

For several years, Casey also hosted the must-hear, Cleveland Indians pre-pregame program. When the program first aired, he would end the show by saying, "Honey, I'm rounding third and heading home." Once in a while, he'd say he was rounding third, picking up that gallon of milk she requested, then headed home. He was factual, witty and entertaining. "Rounding third and heading home" will forever be the way Clevelanders remember him, given the pain he endured over the last year and the faith that he conveyed.

Casey fought the bottle for a long time, and seemed to have conquered those demons. He lived his faith, enjoyed what he did, and helped others. He was not perfect; no one is. He did, however, live to fulfill all his vocations. If we could only show so much joy and passion through all our own trials and tribulations.

God Bless the Coleman family. Your son, brother, husband, and father was an inspiration to us.

Mr. Peabody here, with his pet boy, Quipper. We decided to try something new with the Wayback Machine yesterday. At promptly 12:58pm, we chose to bring the "expansion franchise" spirit from the Cleveland Browns 1999 team to the current day. And, boy - sorry, Quipper - we exceeded expectations. We never imagined that we could fully take the atmosphere, lack of organization, and chaos from one age, and superimpose it on another team with much better talent than the 1999 team.

And now, to repeat the obvious, here are this week's Idiot of the Week awards:

Win - Braylon Edwards..um, University of Michigan "whiner student athlete" and Browns wide receiver. He shot off his mouth several times this past week, then physically confronted quarterback Charlie Frye on the sidelines during the game. Not smart. The ongoing saga of prima donna wide receivers continues in the NFL.

Place - Charlie Frye - an all-around bad game against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. This should have been an easy game for him to prove is decision making ability.

Show - Romeo Crennel, head coach of the Browns. I guess the team met his "leave it all on the field" quota of one game, last week against the Steelers. Oy Vey!

Honorable Mention - The remainder of the Cleveland Browns team. No spirit, no gumption, no energy. That's their own fault.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Okay, I admit, I've gone a little crazy on the blogging thing the past two weeks. When the thoughts arrive, and you believe there is an urgency about your content - whether it is profound or silly - you post. It's been one of those fortnights. I've also had the opposite, where you could have given me a completed post, cart blanche, and I couldn't post it.

So most of my stuff was political/national security based, but I also posted some band and sports stuff. I will be covering lighter fare here and in my Quipper Entertainment blog, which has some pretty neat videos. (Yes, I know, it's a shameless plug.)

The reason for this post, though, is simple: I am preparing to answer a question that Indiana Jane asked me a week or so ago. After giving her question some serious thought, I had my idea of how to respond to her. Her question was about politics. My answer was: wdhspd? (That means "what did homeschool parents do?")

So, to prepare you for a series of posts that I will be blogging over the next month, I request that you first take the time to read these excellent posts from The Rebellious Pastor's Wife about homeschooling.

My intent is not to sell you on homeschooling. My intent is not to sell you on religion. Y'all have your own ideas about all of that already. My idea is to take a concept for which many of you already have preconceived notions or beliefs, and show how those preconceived notions and beliefs - and how you deal with them - apply to today's political landscape. So, that being said, here is the series from the Rebellious Pastor's Wife. I will start posting my responses to Indiana Jane's question in the next week or so...and I will even tell you what her question was. :-)

Sunday, November 19, 2006

What a whirlwind weekend for the Cleveland football fan. The Ohio State Buckeyes pulled out a great win in an awesome game against that team up north. The Browns, however, weren't able to stop the Steelers once Pittsburgh went into a no-huddle offense, and lost a heartbreaker. Pittsburgh just has the better players at this time, although I think we played them tougher than they expected.

Upgrades

I went shopping this weekend to upgrade my gig "outfit". While I usually look like this,

donning a Chief Wahoo baseball cap turned frontwards or backwards, I decided to mix up my look a bit:

Okay, so you may not consider it an upgrade, but I couldn't keep wearing an out of season ball cap. Just not my thang. (I think we'll be performing Hang On Sloopy for a while, especially since OSU's basketball team got off to a good start, too.)

Precious Ribbons

And now, in celebration of all the bozos that play the game we know and love, here are the Idiot of the Week awards:

Win - Mike Hart, University of Michigan running back. While the game was close and entertaining, OSU basically gave Michigan 10 points due to turnovers in the 3rd quarter. OSU didn't play its best all game; Michigan did. They still lost. After the game, Hart had the nerve to say OSU's defense was over hyped. HELLO MIKE...Your top-ranked rushing defense(giving up an average of 29.2 yards per game) and hyped passing defensegave up 200 yards rushing and almost 400 yards passing. If they do it all over again in the BCS championship, both teams make adjustments, and you still lose. Whiner; this is sour grapes cuz you lost to the Buckeyes three years in a row.

(By the way, it's now 8:07pm, EST, and Michigan still sucks.)

Place - Charlie Frye - his decision making is improving, but he could have run for 3-4 yards on a critical 3rd and 1. Instead, the play failed, and we punted. The Browns lost with only 32 seconds left in the game. Had he run, and therefore extended the drive, the makeup and outcome of the game would have been different.

Show - Joey Porter, Linebacker for the Steelers - Joey was talking smack with Kellen Winslow, Jr. all game. On one pass play, Porter tried tackling Winslow. Kellen stiff-armed him and forced him to the ground - basically, he tackled Porter - then ran for at least another five yards after the play. Sweet!

Honorable Mention - Rutgers college football team. They had a remote chance of going to the big dance (BCS championship bowl), then proceeded to lose to a 5-5 Cincinnati Bearcats team. Rutgers proceeded to drop nine places in the BCS standings.

Brownies - the Troy Smith/Brady Quinn lottery starts in a mere two months. Frye has six more games to continue improving his decision making ability before you draft another quarterback...and pass rushing specialist...and offensive lineman. :-)

Friday, November 17, 2006

Sheesh, some of you are getting a little impatient, I see. We definitely live in the microwave society, where we permit problems to fester for years, decades, and longer, but we want the solutions implemented NOW! We want everyone to understand us and take our side, but get steamed when we believe someone doesn't "get it".

But I digress. Onto the answers.

1. What are the purposes for carrying out the consequences? In one way or another, you all answered the question correctly: a) punish the inappropriate behavior, and b) set an example to curb the behavior in others.

Note that none of these reasons deals with the offense. They are all self-centered. They are all wrong. In actuality, we disregard the second purpose.

By not implementing the stated consequences, we make our policing efforts look weak. On a parental level, this happens when parents don't publicly back up each other on a disciplinary action. Even if the parents disagree, they should do so in private, away from the kids, but permit the discipline to occur. On the local/national level, it makes laws unenforceable, and erodes the ability of our safety forces to do their jobs, while giving the criminal element reason to continue in their unlawful ways. Internationally, it eliminates any baseline for legal behavior, making all activity acceptable, no matter how immoral, unethical or illegal it may truly be.

Remember this next time you choose not to carry out discipline in your own household, or when you want to advocate for a death row inmate who has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. You will be contributing directly to the ongoing disrespect of authority, and to the erosion of civility.

Here is a bit of teaching that merits consideration:

The civil government...is intended to punish the gross, manifest crimes that people commit. Civil government is authorized to preserve external peace, so that each person may be able to preserve what belongs to him.

In this civil kingdom, there is no forgiveness of sin, but rather punishment for sin.... God did not put a useless piece of paper into the emperor's hand, but rather the hardest and sharpest sword with which to execute punishment; not a pen, but a sword.

It continues:

If civil government were to forgive crimes, you and I would lose everything. When a thief steals everything there is in a house, when a murderer robs and kills whomever he meets on the street, if the prince of a territory and the judge of a city were to ignore and forgive crimes, we would all lose our property, or bodies and our lives.

When thieves insist on stealing and murderers insist on killing, then the emperor and his agents have a responsibility to address the problem in a different way than I...would address it. To repeat, the job of the emperor and his forces is to punish evildoers, not to forgive them.

Keep going:

Unfortunately, what is happening today is that officials in the civil government, who are reminded of their responsibility to punish, not only are indifferent and lazy about punishing crime, but actually aid and abet the criminals...they brought secular government to the point where rulers pleaded conscientious objection when it was their duty to execute criminals.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head. So, now you have two new questions:1. When was this teaching written?2. By whom?

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Most of you reading this are either employed or have been employed full-time. That being so, some firm - or your H.R. department - has talked with you about your financial future. If you are self-employed, some financial advisor may have had that talk with you. You know, the one that inevitably includes the words:

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Okay, then let's change this slightly to match the current political state in the U.S.:

Don't put all your eggs in either of two baskets.

Businesses attempt to diversify to protect themselves from loss. We diversify our financial portfolios to improve on the good times, and alleviate loss in the bad times. Organizations diversify their workforce, attempting to bring fresh ideas to a stale environment.

So, how do you diversify the two political parties when everyone in the parties thinks alike?

You don't. (See a recurring theme?)

I'm starting to like the idea of a handful of political parties fighting for control of the legislature. What would happen if you had four political parties with clout, each one fundamentally different enough that you could not guarantee a consistent voting bloc, yet with none of these parties having a true majority - and maybe not even a legitimate plurality - in Congress?

I like government more when it does less. I believe a 4-8 year furlough of our elected officials would be a good start. Knowing the outlandishness of that hope, having 4-5 political parties duke it out, with none of them having a mandate, would be just as good.

Congress has its first elected Muslim - Keith Ellison. And here you can read about CAIR's successes in 'non-partisan' politicking.

This is an organization that will only work within the political parties long enough to gain an advantage; in other words, long enough to hijack a party. When that happens, it won't matter if you are liberal or conservative; all that will matter is that you are not Muslim.

We have to work to ensure that this doesn't happen.

To put this in perspective: I don't think the pro-tolerance crowd looks at Islam as a religion. I think they view it as a race and/or culture. That's why they want to protect it. They just don't get it.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

...to a rhetorical question. No, sillies, not to the pop quiz. Not yet, anyway.

The question: when you support an issue that you believe should garner major political party support, but won't because the issue will politically cripple the party should they support it, how do you garner support from the party?

Answer: you don't.

Welcome to the new millenium of politics in America, where both major parties profess liberty conceptually, but avoid it practically. Where they want to help the little people, but truly only help themselves. Where they want to empower the powerless, but not to the point of losing their own power.

They do this because politics is really marketing, an attempt to accumulate the greatest market share. You cannot do that by being on a minority side of an issue, or by throwing all your weight behind a minority issue. Instead, you have to insure yourself that you will at least maintain your current power position, if not improve it.

Point of Reference

The words "moderate", "independent", "non-partisan" all play into the us vs. them mentality of the two major parties. They make the Democrat and Republican parties the frame of reference. That's a problem. As Art Modell, former owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens (God save me for mentioning his name), used to say, "bad publicity is better than no publicity". As long as you are the point of reference, you can still frame the debate.

So, to make honest change in the political landscape, we have to work from without, since working from within only strengthens our reliance on the Dems and Reps.

To Link, or Not To Link

To do my small part - no, Scottius, I am not running for political office - I will from time to time add links to issues or organizations that are beneficial to the political growth of America, but a detriment to the political establishment. I will not post political party links - sorry, Scott, it's my blog and I'll refrain if I want to - but to issues like "None of the Above". (Special thanks to William White, Director of Voters for None of the Above, for commenting on this post.)

Feel free to comment on these links, or not. But by all means, check them out. The more we can marginalize the two major political parties, the better chance we have of saving our liberty.

Monday, November 13, 2006

We're keeping it real, folks. Time for an impromptu exam. The best tests are those for which you are unprepard, because they tell the teacher how well you know the material, and how well you think on your feet.

Here are three scenarios:

1. A child steals a handful of cookies from the cookie jar, while his little sister watches the situation unfold.2. A man attempts to rape a woman.3. A world leader professes not to be developing a nuclear program, and submits to an inspection program to prove his truthfulness. However, he does not remain faithful to the terms of the agreement.

Assume the following for all three scenarios:

1. Boundaries were formally set - in the first, it's the parental rule. The second, the law. The third, UN agreement.2. Consequences were formally set, by the same parties that set the boundaries.3. The boundaries and consequences were communicated in advance to the appropriate parties, or to the community in general.4. The individual in each scenario was caught overstepping the boundaries and found guilty.

The questions for the test:

1. What are the two purposes for carrying out the consequences?2. Why don't we fulfill those two purposes?

Goldie Hawn will be so happy that I didn't forget her. This weekend's football games were about as zany as her movie, Wildcats. But, seeing and hearing what I saw, she probably could have coached better than a number of other coaches this weekend. Doh!

Congrats to the Buckeyes and Browns. Yeah, Michigan won, too. The only reason that matters is because it'll allow OSU to beat two - sorry, three - #2 ranked teams this year. The third will be the team they beat in the BCS championship. Disclaimer: I am not clairvoyant; just hoping. :-)

Okay, it's Sunday night, time for the Idiot of the Week Awards. Tell us who won, Johnny.

Win - Michael Vick, Quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Granted, the Browns defense is pretty good, but Vick allowed himself to lose the game. Charlie Frye actually made less mistakes than Vick did.

Place - The Cincinnati Bengals - how do you give up 42 points in a half - at home??? Marvin Lewis, Cinci's head coach, and his defensive coordinator must have forgotten there was a second half to play. Stick a fork in the Bengals; they're done.

Show - all the top ranked college football teams that forgot how to beat unranked teams. Yes, that includes you, Texas, California, and Auburn. You are certainly making the BCS championship quest interesting.

No honorable mentions tonight. Frye is proving he needs help in the decision-making component of this game. But he outplayed Vick, so I'll leave him alone...this time.

There are several weeks left in the college football season after the OSU-Michigan game. Depending on what happens, the loser of that game could still find themselves in the BCS championship against the winner.

What do you call a group of Michigan fans in a basement?A whine cellar.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Now I am lying; it was not fun: I LIVED IN AUDIT HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL! OH, OOOOOHHHHHHH!Instead of ranting about politics, which could take forever to catch up, I decided to take a different approach. Here is what I want (see the list below). I'm not asking for much, really, just a country whose leaders really care, and work for the betterment of the country, not just their party.

Take special note of what is not on the list, too. I'm sure some of you would have anyway.

No explanation needed

Term limits

Line item veto

No more motor-voter registration

Enact literacy requirements for people to qualify as registered voters

Dissolve the EPA, or at least get them out of the eminent domain business

Honoring private property rights

End of corporate entitlements

End of state entitlements from the Feds

End of local/county entitlements from the Feds and state

Eliminate all social services administered at the federal level

Tort reform to penalize ambulance chasers, and to help curb malpractice insurance premiums

Remove the not-for-profit status of all PACs, so that they can pay taxes

After that, charge an exorbitant licensing fee to become a PAC and retain that status annually. There's a tax I could support. :-)

Enforce the immigration laws on the books

Brief explanation needed:

Treat those that aren't citizens as though they aren't citizens: no rights until they work through the system to be naturalized.

Stop using Christ, race, gender and sex as sound-bite emotional issues. Politicians obfuscate debate when these are introduced into the discussion.

Impeachment of judges who fail to live up to their duty. That is, after all, the check that the legislature has over the judiciary.

Enforce the Constitution and Amendments - yes, all of them - as written. No more of this "reading into" an amendment or article to suit your purposes.

Capital punishment occurs within twelve months of the sentence. Forget having to sustain these folks for years on death row.

{Intermission}

Zero based budgeting - when I set my family budget, I don't start with this year's expenses, automatically increase them by 5-7%, then figure out how much more I need. I start from zero, every year. So should the government.

"None of the Above", or some equivalent, as a valid election choice for key races, such as Fed and State House and Senate races, and Mayoral and Council offices. If candidates run a high $$$ campain, and no one wins, the major political parties have to do it all over again. If they're going to waste my money, I don't mind wasting theirs.

Single-issue bills - No more of this crap, for example, where a military spending bill fails because some bozo adds a rider to save the one-eyed floozy-bird in southeastern Minot. Then the bozo's campaign advertises that his opponent failed the military bill.

Still reading? Good.

Governmental bodies must comply with the laws they enact - No more independent retirement fund for government agencies and representatives, whereas the general public gets social security. Do their organizations have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley?

Vacate our seat in the U.N. - we keep lending credibility to 3rd world crazies who hate us, but want our money. (Who wants to be like the French, anyway?)

Rescind McCain-Feingold - it only makes the incumbents stronger, and causes more PACs to form to combat the incumbents. Talk about misappropriation of funds.

Truth in campaigning - ads are not allowed to be aired if any false information is identified, but the campaigners have to pay the fees, anyway.

See, I'm not asking for much. Nothing that the electorate can't enforce.

Here it is again. I don't know what happened, but this post went MIA some time between Tuesday and Thursday. And now, I have the added benefit of updating the template to include these links. :-)

I have much to say on politics, religion, and escapism, but I am still trying to put my thoughts into words. So, until then, enjoy the new, fresh baked links from my site. As always, just cuz I link 'em doesn't mean I always agree with them, but I do like reading them.

Conblogeration - courtesy of Des Moines GirlKayla - I don't remember how I got to her site, I think it was a comment from another blogger's site.Yoda - courtesy of Kayla

And, courtesy of friends and family:Chaplain to the World - our Assistant Pastor at Christ Lutheran ChurchClassical Pelican - our Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church. And I believe I am related to him through marriage. :-)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Hide the children! Quipper is about to give his post-election analysis!

Yes, it's true. I am about to give the shortest, most concise political analysis in the history of the modern world.State/Local - liberty lost, as use of legal substances is now illegal, even though those substances are now taxed at a higher rate to fund "culture". Entitlement won, as our state constitution now mandates regular increases to the minimum wage. And we don't love the children, because we failed the gambling issue.

State/National - we have been assimilated. What my buddy Scott calls the "two headed political party" is, in actuality, the Borg. Doesn't matter who's in power, as long as THEY ARE IN POWER. 'Nuff said.

Resistance is futile? Only if we keep believing the 2-party system and big media are the only answer to better governance of the United States.

Grass roots movements should no longer involve reform of the major parties, but should lead to their disintegration.

Friday, November 03, 2006

If you live in Ohio, and are eligible to vote in Tuesday's election, and are smart enough to exercise your right to vote, great. What I'm about to say may surprise you.

I don't care how you vote on the gambling issue. Really, I don't.

For those of you reading this, no matter in which state you reside, I would like to make a different point.

You have all heard of the term "sin tax". It's when you take people's vices - preferably drinking and smoking - and tax the living daylights out of them. People get to "do what they do", and municipalities, or the state, or both, get to fill their corporate coffers. It's a win for all sides, right?

Not really. What happens when the state or municipalities decide to start making it illegal to consume according to your vice? In other words, what if it's legal to buy cigarettes, but illegal to use them? Logically, wouldn't you stop buying them? If you did for that reason, or because you wanted to improve your own health, you would stop the growth of the governmental coffers. Oops, we can't have that! Why? Because governments do not believe in paring down costs; they operate off the premise of continual increase. So, when the coffers decrease in value, that's not good.

What do you do, then, if one vice no longer pays the bills? Why not subsidize another one? Let's see, what's a good example of a vice that, in controlled amounts, doesn't hurt anyone? Hmmm.

{thinking}

{still thinking}

Um...gambling?

Yep! You got it.

Think about it for a minute. Regardless of whether gambling is good for the economy, look at the tax collection opportunities. You start by permitting gambling at a small number of locations. Then you approve gambling at more locations. Then you start taxing the daylights out of gambling activities. (BTW...I refuse to use the politically correct term "gaming".)

But wait, there's more.

The reason Ohio is promoting gambling is because it will "keep money in the state". In other words, Ohioans will gamble in Ohio, instead of going to neighboring states. If that is truly the goal of gambling, and the state and municipalities start adding winnings taxes, tourist taxes, additional lodging taxes, etc., guess who wins?Ooh, ooh, ooh, Mr. Kotter, Mr. Kotter, I know!

Who?

No one.

Yep, but why? Simple. You are adding taxes to an already overtaxed population in the state of Ohio. You've substituted "smoking tax" for "gambling + tourist + lodging" tax, all to the detriment of the state's residents. So, by supporting the vice, we're actually setting up portions of our population to keep less money in their pockets by being taxed more.

The Browns won, somehow, although they tried to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. I hate that "prevent" offense. But that's all I can say since I did not see or hear the second half.

The Detroit Tigers pitching staff gets Win, Place and Show for my "Idiot of the Week" awards. Five errors by the pitchers, one in each game. They accounted for 1-2 runs per game. That's why they lost the world series.

Hooray St. Louis Cardinals! Congratulations on winning the World Series.

Happy Halloween! I'll be dressed as a father of a 9-yo daughter and a 4.835-yo son.

My condolences to all of you who haven't exercised your right to vote yet. Mrs. Quipper and I are already done, courtesy of absentee ballots. So, while all the campaign ads are still a nuisance, I actually don't need to pay attention to any of them. Hah! Both parties should be found guilty of impersonating people that care, anyway.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

On my way to work today, I listened to the local talk radio show. The morning host was interviewing - not by choice - a person in favor of a state amendment to raise the minimum wage, and another in favor of gambling as a valid way to raise education funds. The supporting arguments revolved around "we have no other choice" (school education funding through gambling) to "all people deserve to make a living wage" (minimum wage).

Excuse me? Moral issues aside, why are these being pushed as "big wins" for the state? What happened to attracting business by becoming a business-friendly state? What happened to raising people's skills so they don't need to take minimum wage jobs?

Also, why are we cow-towing to unions when they are trying to prop up a 1950's manufacturing model of employment? Instead of griping about losing manufacturing jobs to overseas companies, unions (not the government) should risk becoming irrelevant and work to truly upgrade their members' skillsets.

Don't worry, China and 3rd world countries will be clamoring to unionize in the next several years anyway (if not already), and they'll have the same wage problems that we have now. Let 'em have them. We should be smart enough to be beyond them by now. Oops, I forgot: politicians, not governors, run the country.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Did you know that Brown University conducted a study on college freshman to see if they really gain weight or not? They do, to the tune of 5-8 pounds. And sophomores gain 3-5 pounds. And men gain more than women.

Why?

No...not, "why do men gain more than women?" Or, "why 5-8 pounds as freshmen, but less as sophomores?"

No...why conduct the study? It's just more fat at the academic level. Tell me how this knowledge fosters utility - the greatest good for the greatest number? I don't believe it does. It simply provides another excuse for academia to get its hands on more government funds; another entitled entity, if you will.

I do believe that there are plenty of valid studies conducted by universities. But why this one? Who, in the upper echelons of funds distribution, decided this was just use of funds? They should be drawn and quartered.

When university departments have full-timers whose primary responsibility is to draft requests for grants, there's a problem. Talk about pork. Sheesh!

And the answers to the "why" you thought I asked? Simple: beer, fast food and lots of sitting. That's why.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

In football, when "root for the home team" means you cheer on your favorite college team two hours south of you, it's not a good NFL season. I believe insanity is doing the same things over, yet expecting different results. So why do I watch the Browns on television?

I dunno.

At least I had a decent diversion today; I did some online training for work. Actually, it wasn't as good of a diversion as I had hoped. :-(

This week's Idiot of the Week Awards are brought to you in the colors of the Browns, black and blue.

Win - Maurice "Plug" Carthon, Browns OC. Again, I watched the opposing offensive coordinator make just enough adjustments for his faltering offense to pull out a win. Brownies offense only plays well when it plays desperately. Maybe that is a better plan than having a plan. Why "Plug"? Easy, we should pull him.

Place - Joe Jurevicius - yeah, he caught a touchdown pass. But, he decided to use his body to catch, I mean drop, two other passes. Use your hands, man, that's why God gave them to you. Duh!

Show - Charlie Frye, quarterback. Several more bad decisions today, and bad mechanics, too. Looks like he's just waiting to get hit.

Honorable Mention - Tim McCarver, color analyst for Fox during the World Series. He called Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, catcher for the Tigers, a "natural born Hall of Famer". Huh? That's just so dumb, I have no further comment.

Kudos to the Buckeyes for trouncing Indiana. That's the way it should be.

And, I am starting to believe that the Browns actually have a decent defense. Now, if the offense would stop taking the qualudes right before game time....

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Mrs. Quipper and I received our absentee ballots yesterday, courtesy of Midwest Broward's Board of Elections. I will be exercising my right to select the best of bad candidates, or no candidates at all. And I will gladly shoot down any issue that attempts to extract more money from my pocketbook, or make the use of legal substances, like nicotine, illegal.

And I get to do it at home. In front of my computer. Investigating any issues and candidates on which I need more info before fulfilling my right/obligation.

And I will make a copy of my responses, just in case Midwest Broward loses my results. :-o

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Meet Derek. Derek is a good kid. Mid-20s, clean cut, polite, and a drummer in rock 'n roll band.

Meet Stacy. Stacy is a Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do.

You are meeting Derek and Stacy now. The Quipper family met them three years ago, when our daughter started taking Tae Kwon Do lessons at one of the local studios.

So, what's so special about Derek and Stacy?

They have been married for roughly two years now. They got married in spite of some serious health complications in Derek's life: his lungs, both of them, worked at 15% capacity at best. Derek couldn't do a regular day's work. He stopped drumming, stopped doing much of anything. Every moment felt like he was swimming, and unable to get a good breath.

Then, Derek caught a break. Two lungs were available, and he was next. Talk about trial and tribulation during the first year of marriage! Lots of time in the hospital, wondering if the lungs would be accepted. Thankfully, Derek's body accepted them. Then, building strength. Geez, how long would that take? Then, how much would his life change? What danger would lurk around the corner?

Let's fast forward to today. The news is all good: Derek's lungs both work up to 90% capacity. His body is not quite up to full strength yet, but his doctors say he is very close. Thank God for making the lungs available, and for giving Derek good doctors and surgeons to take care of him as needed. Now, the only scar of any consequence is the one that all of us would dread in the same situation: six figure doctor bills needing to be paid off.

Family and friends of Derek and Stacy started the Celebrate Life Concert last year to celebrate Derek's health. The Second Annual Celebrate Life Concert is taking place this Saturday, October 21 at the Vermilion On The Lake Clubhouse, 3780 Edgewater, Vermilion, OH 44089. The celebration has food, contests, raffles, and five bands that will play their style of music, ranging from classic rock, to jazz, to hardcore metal. (The bands get progressively heavier as the day goes on.)

Doors open at noon, and the bands are scheduled from 3:00pm-11:30pm. A $10 donation is required for entry. All proceeds will go to assist in payment of Derek's medical bills.

The Quipper family invites you to join us as we celebrate with our friends. We hope to see you there.

Mork from Ork would be proud of this one (maybe). The inspiration is not personal, but would make a great ditty for those pharmaceutical companies. Imagine the acoustic guitar playing in the background in a campfire-song style.

Ode to the Blue Pill

When the private's not salutin'And the gun's no longer shootin'There is really only one thing left to do.

Go to the apothecaryAnd consult the formularyBuy the blue pill and be armed for an hour or two.

...or three or four.

:-)

I have no Idiot of the Week awards this week, as I've paid very little attention to sports, with the exception of the Buckeyes thrashing of the Michigan State Spartans. No hometown idiots in that one.